A newly published G7 Declaration promotes international cooperation on standards as a means to promote economic growth, innovation, productivity and competitiveness, interoperability, trust, and security in the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs). The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which recently issued a response to the G7 Declaration.

Entitled "Making the next production revolution inclusive, open and secure," the declaration was drafted during the G7 meeting in Torino, Italy, in September. G7 countries developed the declaration as part of an effort to leverage best practices to respond to the Next Production Revolution, as digital innovation, new technologies, new materials, and new processes change the landscape of 21st century global production.

The declaration acknowledges that standardization is an effort driven by market needs with the capability to advance social and economic objectives. "Therefore, standards-setting practices should be open to participation from all interested stakeholders," it reads, and underscores the participation of SMEs as drivers of innovation in standardization.

Sergio Mujica, Secretary-General of ISO, welcomed the declaration. “In the digital world, international standards provide the basis of interoperability which is essential for technology to work. For example, for devices to communicate with one another and for data exchange to work, there needs to be an understanding of the communication protocols and methods in order for compatibility to be achieved. This is where standards provide a vital role," he said.

“We are delighted to see that this has been recognized by the G7 leaders as a way to drive innovation and progress.”